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Population Density and Earnings Management

Mon, Dec 23, 2019

Time: 15:00-17:30 December 24th, 2019 Tuesday

Venue:Tongji Building Block A Room 308

Speaker: Jian Zhou, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Professor

Abstract: Psychological research on the theory of life history strategy finds that individuals living in a high-population-density environment tend to be more future-oriented than those living in a low-population-density environment. Based on this theory, we predict that managers of the firms headquartered in a higher-population-density area are less likely to manage earnings. Using U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas-level data, we show that accrual-based earnings management and real earnings management are negatively associated with the population density of firm headquarters location. Our study documents the first geographical determinant of earnings management, contributing to the literature on the effects of societal factors on firms’ financial-reporting decisions.

Speaker’s Bio: Jian Zhou is the Lloyd Fujie/Deloitte Foundation Distinguished Professor at University of Hawaii at Manoa and the current Accounting PhD program coordinator. His current research focuses on auditing, financial accounting and corporate finance. He has published 34 papers, including in top accounting, finance and management journals such as Journal of Accounting and Economics, Management Science, Contemporary Accounting Research (4 times), Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis. His research has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, SmartMoney and has been referenced in Financial Accounting Theory and in top journals in accounting, finance, marketing and law. His research has been cited by a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission study, a U.S. Government Accountability Office study, a joint letter to the US Congress from the Center for Audit Quality, the Council for Institutional Investors, and the CFA Institute. His research has been cited more than 3,650 times and has been downloaded more than 40,800 times. He is a two-time winner of Shirley M. Lee Research Award. He also won the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquis Who’s Who. He serves as a reviewer for top journals such as The Accounting Review, Contemporary Accounting Research, Review of Accounting Studies, Management Science, and Strategic Management Journal. He serves on the Editorial Board of Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory and International Journal of Auditing. He has won Award for Outstanding Service to the American Accounting Association Auditing Section and Award for Outstanding Service to Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory. He also serves as an external grant reviewer for University Grants Committee of Hong Kong and external PhD dissertation examiner for National University of Singapore. He served as a keynote speaker at Japan Audit Association Annual Meeting.

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